Corrective Action
by Femme Bono
Summary: How season 6 should have ended when Castiel/Raphael's war got out of hand. NO pairings. Sam, Dean, Castiel, Crowley, Raphael, Bobby.


_NOTE: This didn't have an AU warning like on AFF, but it does now. I was reminded by one reader of all the shady things Michael did in prior episodes and my Michael had the same feeling as Castiel. He did terrible things with pure intentions-much like Sam and Dean have at times._

_Having a god in the first place in lieu of the angels duking it out for control of heaven is just one of the many things that makes this AU. These angels, and the whole set-up really, is more traditional religion and less Kripke-hence the angelic hierarchy (Principalities, Seraphim, etc.). My take was that they had all overstepped and needed a divine smack in the back of the head. _

**Corrective Action**

_"You can't imagine what it's like…," _Castiel spoke as the light faded_. "They're all inside me. Millions upon millions of souls."_

"_Sounds sexy_," quipped Crowley.

"Enough." This came from a third voice, an unknown, who had entered the fray. The woman stepped into the light of the room unheeding the shocked gasps and heads turning for a better look. The angels and Crowley stood goggling at the interloper, aghast as the demon hunters tried to figure out who the newest element of this epic battle must be.

She took one look at Crowley, one brow arched, and uttered one word. "Go." In a wink he was gone without a sound. Sam stood hipshot, his brow furrowed as he tried to gauge this girl's level in the angelic hierarchy while Dean's mouth opened and closed like a fish before Bobby elbowed him and pointed to the angels as first Castiel and then Raphael knelt.

The lady, a Titian blonde who appeared to be in her thirties, gestured for them to rise before she spoke again. "Too long I have waited for you to put aside your differences or work through them. I cannot and will not, however, allow you to unmake existence over your power plays. And I am absolutely _astounded _at the fact that you allowed the shadows of Hell to diminish what you two have between you."

She moved as she spoke, coming nearer to the table where the used jar of blood sat. She picked it up, turning it in her hands as a frisson of pain flitted across her delicate porcelain features. "Castiel," she whispered.

The angel's knees buckled. "I am…s-so sorry," he pleaded, his features contorted into agony. "I shed blood," his voice cracked, "of innocents, and I took the souls of Purgatory, but-"

"You no longer have those souls within you. I have returned them," she interjected, "but you are correct. You did slay innocents-both of you," she said, eyeing Raphael as well.

"You drew numerous humans in without just cause," she gestured to the hunters standing impotently watching the byplay. "And furthermore, you both threatened their absolute annihilation and have gotten your brother Michael enmeshed with Lucifer in Hell."

"Not once have you tried to free him, and instead you are here squabbling like children on a playground and for what ? To be highest? To be Seraphim? Neither of you are ready for Chief Principality, let alone to guard the throne. Well, that is done. You will now put aside this fight. Go and help your brother. We will discuss this at length when you have done as you are told."

"Hey!" croaked Dean behind them as though he had finally realized he had a voice. "What the-" he cut himself off as both Raphael and Castiel hissed at him to shut up.

The woman turned, brows raised in surprise as though she were not accustomed to being addressed in such a way. When her gaze lighted on Dean, her gaze warmed and she smiled, shaking her head. "Yes, I'm sure you have any number of questions you will disguise with that unique brand of humor of yours. What is it?"

A million things raced through his mind…who she was, which faction she represented, if she was on the angels' side why had Crowley obeyed her, but the one thing out of his mouth, surprising even himself was, "…my car?"

"Is fine," she chuckled. "Go see." Dean scuttled off to the window where he saw his beloved Impala sitting in the street below with nary a scratch.

Sam, luckily, had found his voice by that point. "We can't allow Lucifer and Michael back out of Hell. They'll try to finish what they started with us. And Dean and I aren't looking to get possessed again. We won't."

"No, nor should you," she shook her head. "You were never meant to destroy each other. Many others can claim to be descended from Cain and Abel. It is no one's destiny to play out the damage they did to each other. It was interpreted wrongly," she finished, sparing a glance to Castiel. "That is not an uncommon thing, sadly enough, even what I say gets skewed and by the best of men."

"More, I am glad that you both have a bond of brotherhood to be celebrated. Both willing to risk hellfire for each other, to have gone through the tunnel of death for each other, to fight back to back against the wickedness that walks this earth. I am proud of you both, for you are doing as you are meant to do and by your own choices made according to the challenges and options that have come your way."

"And Michael and Lucifer are their own entities. You mistake me when you think I mean to free them both. Lucifer turned from me, he embraced the dark, and therefore he may stay as he is. Michael however still answers to me, and so will reside with me. I know his heart, and he is truly sorry for bringing you both into this private war with his estranged brother."

"Thank you both for trying to hold back the tide of what these two have wrought as well," she nodded. "I do have to rein in on my children from time to time. Castiel's true vocation is to be your guardian, Dean, and he will return to his job in due course."

"Meanwhile, take care of yourselves," she said turning as Castiel and Raphael melted from sight in a glare of white light.

"Where are you all going?" Bobby uttered in awe.

"I am not going, and I never will leave you truly. I am always with you, and I always _am_," she smiled.

The next thing the trio knew, they woke the next morning sprawled across two full beds in their dingy motel room. Dean's pristine Impala was parked right outside and the sun was shining fully, not a cloud in the sky.


End file.
